Carl Dreyer's 1943 exploration of the persecution of alleged witches in the 17th century is a film of staggering atmospheric concentration and formal beauty. Polar-opposite critics Andre Bazin and Robert Warshow both found the film ambiguous in its treatment of the reality of evil; but considerations of directorial conviction cannot mar the film's immense power and brilliantly realized sense of torment. A masterpiece from a director who, in 50 years of filmmaking, produced more than his share in relatively few films.
By
Don Druker
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